A Hunters' Friend
by MoSassy23
Summary: Dean is running out of options to find John. His last hope, besides Sam, is their old childhood friend. Can she help them find John, and even help them find the thing that's plagued them for over twenty years?
1. Pilot

_A.N. Hope you enjoy, first story. Under the copyright laws, I don't own anything that is Supernatural or anything like it, I just own Max._

Pilot

_Sacramento, California_

A blonde woman walks down an empty alley, not knowing that she is being watched. She looks to be in her early twenties, with wavy blonde hair tied in a braid and bright blue eyes. She carries a satchel with her, containing her scrubs from her nursing job at the hospital down the street. Her street clothes consist of a beat up brown leather jacket, a grey v-neck t-shirt, ripped up jeans, and a pair of scuffed boots.

The woman's pursuer watches her go into an apartment building, carefully watching her surroundings. She closes the door behind her and walks up two flights to her apartment. She looks down the empty hallway, then enters her apartment. The main room is dark, she sighs knowing that a couple chairs and a table and a bed are what she's gonna find. She puts her bag on the table and reaches for the light switch on the wall. The lights don't come on. It's then that she realizes that the window is open wide. She kneels down and pulls out the silver knife hidden in her boot, then slowly walks into the room. She takes a few steps, then is grabbed from behind. She and her attacker struggle, but she tackles him to the ground and holds the knife to his throat.

"Well, well, looks like you haven't lost your touch, Maxi." A very familiar voice says. The woman straightens to see her attacker better.

"Dean? What the hell?" Maxine Pierce, Max to everyone else, stands up pulling her old friend Dean Winchester with her. Max looks him over in the dark, waiting for him to answer.

"Thought I'd come surprise my old buddy. Didn't have to pull a knife on me though." Dean laughs while he rubs his neck where the knife was. Max walks over to the fuse box and turns the lights on. She can see him clearly now.

"Four years and you can't resist to call me that awful name, my how you've matured, Dean." Max says, walking back over toward him and throwing her jacket onto a nearby chair. She notices the differences that appeared in the four-year gap they had been apart. His hair was a little darker brown, he had five-o'clock shadow, his eyes were a little brighter green, and the old leather jacket her wore was an old one of John's.

"Yeah, well, that's why you love me." Dean flashes a smile at her as they walk to the kitchen.

"In your dreams, Winchester." Max opens the fridge and pulls out two beers. Dean notices the ring on her left middle finger.

"Where'd you get the ring, Max? Have a sugar daddy now?" Dean smiles as he takes a sip of beer. Max sighs at him, same old Dean.

"You really don't remember, Dean?" Dean shakes his head. Max takes the ring off and hands it to him. He reads the words on the band, "hope, love, joy."

"That's nice, still doesn't answer my question, but nice." Max grabs it back from him and puts it back on.

"You and Sam gave it to me for my birthday, when we were kids." Realization hits Dean's face.

"Right. Dad was working a case at that old antique place, the owner said we could have anything we wanted. Forgot about that." Max smiles as she takes a sip of her beer.

"Didn't fit me at first, now I wear it all the time." Dean smiles.

"Well, you are welcome." Max hits his arm and takes the ring back, slipping it on her finger.

"Sam was the one who found it." They both laugh, then Max gets to business.

"What are you doing here, Dean. Aren't you supposed to be on a case somewhere right now?" Dean looks at her seriously.

"I was, down in New Orleans about three weeks ago. I tried to get a hold of Dad, so we could re-group. Haven't been able to reach him, then he sends me this." Dean takes out a small tape player and plays the static message on it. "Dean, something is starting, I need to try and figure out what's going on. Be very careful, Dean, we're all in danger."

Max takes the player out of his hand and walks to her laptop, while Dean looks at her with a hurt expression on his face. She hooks up the player and cleans up the message, Dean looks her 5' 4" body up and down before looking at the screen. Max then stands up straight and plays it. "I can never go home." A woman's voice says, sending chills up Max's spine.

"Looks like you got your next case." She looks up at Dean, easy to do since he was about 6' 1", and they share a silent moment.

"Why don't you come with me, Max?" Max laughs.

"You can handle this, Dean. You've seen and done worse cases without me." Dean looks at her seriously.

"Please. I don't want to do this alone, and I can't ask Sam." Max puts her hand on his shoulder.

"I can't, Dean. I have a life here, I can't just drop everything and look for John. I'm sorry." Dean smiles at her, not showing the disappointment he felt.

"It's okay, I get it. If I could, I wouldn't go either." Dean grabs his beer and gulps the rest of it, then heads to the door.

"You know your gonna destroy your liver." Max laughs. Dean smiles at her.

"Maybe, but I know a doc who could help me out with that." Dean stops at the door and looks at her.

"It's good to see you, Max. I missed you, my dad misses, too." Max smiles at him.

"I missed you, too. Be careful, Dean." Dean nods and closes the door behind him. Max stares at the door a minute longer. She walks to the counter to grab her beer, when she sees the tape recorder and a piece of paper where Dean's beer was. Max smiles and glances at the door, before grabbing the paper and opening it. 'Sam's in Palo Alto. Hope to see you there.' Max crumples up the paper, still smiling, then grabs the phone.

"Helen…get me administration…I won't be coming in anymore…I have to take care of some family stuff." Max looked at the door again and shook her head. "Damn, Winchesters."

"I swore I was done hunting, for good." Sam Winchester says as he and his older brother, Dean, walk down the stairs of his apartment building. Sam was about 6' 5" with long dark brown hair and hazel eyes that, at the moment, had a look of annoyance aimed at Dean.

"Come on, wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad." Sam smirks at him.

"Yeah? When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45." Dean stops at the bottom of the stairs.

"Well, what was he supposed to do?" Sam stops on the stairs and looks at his brother.

"I was nine years old. He was supposed to say, 'Don't be afraid of the dark.'" Dean scoffs as Sam descends the stairs.

"Don't be afraid of the dark? Are you kidding me? Of course you should be afraid of the dark! You know what's out there!" Dean turns and walks toward the front door of the building, Sam following.

"Yeah, I know! But still the way we grew up after Mom died and Dad's obsession to find whatever killed her, but we still haven't found the damn thing. So we kill everything we find." Dean smirked at him.

"Yep, save a lot of people doin' it, too." Dean and Sam share a long look, tension growing between them. Sam spoke next.

"You think Mom would've wanted this for us?" Dean turns and walks outside, Sam following him up the stairs to the street.

"The weapons training, and melting silver into bullets. Dean, we were raised like warriors." Dean stopped short and turned to Sam.

"So, what are you gonna do? Live some normal apple pie life, that it?" Sam scoffs at him.

"Not normal, safe." Dean nods once and scoffs.

"So that's why you ran." Sam scoffs back.

"I was going to college. It was Dad who said if I was gonna go I should stay gone." The boys share another long look.

"And that's what I'm doing." Dean speaks with a serious tone.

"Yeah, well, Dad's in trouble right now if he's not dead already, I can feel it." Sam stares at his brother, then Dean continues.

"I can't do this alone." Sam counters.

"Yes you can." Dean looks off into the distance.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to." Sam sighs with a defeated look on his face.

"What was he hunting?" Dean looks up and smiles slightly before turning toward the direction of his 1967 black Chevy Impala. Only then he notices the person with their hood up, leaning against the car. Sam notices and stiffens, they both quickly walk over to the Impala. Dean speaks to them when he gets close.

"Who the hell are you?" The person slightly turns at the sound of his voice and takes the hood off, revealing long blonde hair. The woman turns to the boys, it's Max. She holds out the tape recorder to Dean.

"Left this at my place. Hi, Sam." Sam smiles and goes to hug his old friend.

"Max, how've you been? It's been what, four years?" Max nods.

"It's good to see you, Sam. It's been good, until Dean paid me a late night visit." Dean looks in the opposite direction as Sam looks at him. Max notices.

"You didn't tell him?" Max looks at Sam, "Dean came by my place in Sacramento before coming here. He wanted me to help him instead of you, sorry Sam." Sam nods at her and Max hands Dean the recorder and picks up her bag off the ground. Dean notices.

"What's all that?" Max smiles and places her bag on the hood. She opens it, revealing all her weapons. Dean whistled as he looked through them.

"Damn. Where have you been all my life?" Dean says to a mother-of-pearl inlaid pistol. Max shakes her head at him and takes the gun back.

"You were telling us about John's case." Max says gesturing to her and Sam. Dean coughs and goes to the trunk of the Impala. He opens it, then opens the hidden compartment containing all of his weapons and some of Sam's.

"Alright. Lets see, where did I put those?" Max puts her stuff in the trunk with theirs. She stands back with Sam as he talks to Dean.

"So when Dad left, why didn't you go with him." Dean opens his mouth to answer, but Max cuts him off.

"He was working a case in New Orleans." Max looks at Dean as he continues.

"A hoodoo thing." Sam laughs.

"Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?" Max raises her eyebrows at that.

"I'm twenty-six, guys. Alright, here we go." Dean pulls out papers detailing John's case. "So, Dad was checking out this two lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. 'Bout a month ago, this guy," he hands the paper to Sam and Max looks at it with him, "they'd found his car, but he'd vanished. Completely MIA." Sam looks at Max, then at Dean.

"So maybe he was kidnapped." Dean looks at him, then pulls out more missing person flyers.

"Yeah, well, here's another one in April, another one in December '04, '03, '98, '92, ten of them over the past twenty years, all men, all same five mile stretch of road. Started happening more and more so Dad went to go dig around, that was three weeks ago. I hadn't heard from him which is bad enough, then I get this voicemail yesterday." Dean plays the same recording he played for Max. Sam listens, noticing the EVP on the tape.

"You know there's EVP on that." Dean smiles.

"Not bad, Sammy. Kinda like riding a bike, huh?" Dean is about to continue, when Max takes the recorder out of his hand and looks at Sam.

"Alright, I slowed the message down and ran it through a Gold Wave. Took out the hiss, and this is what I got." She pressed play, and the woman's voice speaks. Sam looks at Max who shivered slightly.

"Never go home." Max looks at them both.

"Still sends chills up my spine." She tosses the recorder in the trunk as Dean closes it. She grabs her satchel, which is filled with her clothes, and walks to the back door of the Impala while the boys talk. Dean leans against the trunk.

"You know, in almost two years, never bothered you, never asked you for a thing." Sam looks at the building, at his window, then back at Dean.

"Alright, I'll go. I'll help you find him, but I have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here." Max closes the door and sits next to Dean as Sam heads back toward the building.

"What's first thing Monday?" Sam stops and looks back at them.

"I have this…I have an interview." Max smiles at him as Dean speaks.

"A job interview? Skip it." Max hits his arm, causing Sam to smile.

"It's a law school interview and it's my whole future on a plate." Dean rubs his arm as he looks at Sam again.

"Law school?" Max hits him again.

"We have a deal or what?" Dean opens his mouth to reply, but Max cuts him off.

"Absolutely. If not him, I will make sure you are here bright and early Monday morning." Max smiles at him, Sam smiles back and nods as he heads back to the building. Once he is out of earshot, Dean looks at her.

"What was that? That hurt." Max gets up and smiles an innocent smile at him.

"What made you change your mind, Max?" Max looks at him with a serious look on her face.

"John is like a second father to me, third if you count my real Dad. And I can't just sit by the phone and wait for you to call with news, to chick-flick right?" Dean laughs and puts an arm around her shoulder. Max smiles and continues.

"And, it looks like your stuck with me," Dean looks at her confused, "quit my job, sold the apartment, got all my weapons." Dean stands up.

"How does that make you stuck with me?" Max smiles a devious smile.

"Careful what you wish for, Dean." Max laughs and gets in the back seat. Dean sighs. "Crap."

Dean walks out of the gas station, food and drink in hand. Sam was looking through Dean's music collection and Max was lying down in the backseat. Dean approached the Impala with a candy bar in his mouth.

"Hey! You want breakfast?" Sam looks at him.

"No thanks." Dean tosses the water bottle at Max, startling her.

"Hey, watch it." Dean doesn't look at her as he opens the driver side door.

"Get your feet off the upholstery." Sam looks between them.

"Never changes. So how did you pay for that? You and Dad still running credit card scams?" Dean gets in as Max sits up in the back.

"Yeah, well, hunting ain't exactly a well paying career. And all we do is apply, it's not our fault they send us the cards." Sam laughs as Max asks.

"Yeah, and what names did you write on the application, genius?" Dean opens his wallet.

"Uh, Burt Aframian and his son Hector. Got two cards out of the deal." Max smirks.

"Sounds about right." Sam laughs and looks at the cassettes.

"I swear, man, you gotta update your cassette collection." Dean looks at him.

"Why?" Max looks between them, liking where this was going.

"Well, for one, their cassette tapes. And two, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica? It's the greatest hits of "Mullet Rock"." Dean takes one of the tapes and puts it in the tape player in the dash.

"Well, house rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole." Dean looks in the rearview mirror, "and that applies to the back seat, too." Max lets out a sigh and leans her head on the front seat. Dean looks at her and smiles. Sam looks at her also, but then at Dean who starts the car and cranks the music.

"You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve year old. It's Sam." Max leans back up smiling. Dean turns up the music.

"Sorry, I can't hear you, the music's too loud." Dean smiles and drives off. Max leans up and whispers in Sam's ear.

"Don't worry, Sam. I'll tell you all the nicknames I used to call him that he hated." Sam laughs with her as they drive down the road, Dean wondering what the hell they were talking about.

They had been driving for a couple hours, Dean keeping the music playing. Sam talks on the phone to someone while Max is lying down in the backseat, asleep. Sam hangs up the phone and looks at Dean.

"Thank you. Alright, so there's no one matching Dad's description at the hospital or morgue, that's something I guess." Dean looks ahead and sees police cars on a bridge.

"Check it out." Sam looks at the police cars as Dean parks the Impala. Dean pulls a box out of the glove box, and Sam looks at Max's sleeping form in the backseat.

"Should we wake her?" Dean looks at her after pulling out a fake I.D.

"Nah, she'll be fine right here." Dean gets out, Sam looks at Max one last time then follows suit.

The boys get back about five minutes later, and by then Max is awake with an angry look on her face.

"You could've woken me up, Dean." Dean looks at her.

"Yeah, but you're always in a crappy mood when you wake up and I didn't want to blow our cover." Dean smiles and turns back around, Sam sending her an apologetic look. Max nods at Sam, but hits Dean upside the head.

"So what'd you guys find out?" Sam tells her that the car belonged to a guy named Troy, and that Troy's girlfriend Amy was someone they had to go talk to. They made it downtown in a matter of minutes, and they easily found Amy. She and a friend were putting up missing person flyers. Dean parked the car down the street and they all got out of the car. Sam stood in front of Max, Dean soon stood next to him.

"What, guys?" Dean looked at Sam before answering.

"Remember what happened the last time we talked to a missing guy's girlfriend? Max you almost took the girl's head off, and we need to talk to her." Max looked at both of them, Sam just shrugged at her.

"Sam, Dean, that was one time! And she was asking for it, being all "I'm perfect and I'm better than you". I swear I'm good." Dean raised his eyebrows at her.

"Just this one, then I'll let you talk to the next grieving woman we see." Max shook her head at him, then turned back to the car. Sam opened the door for her and she sat down. He closed the door and they walked off to talk to Amy.

Sam and Dean walk back down the street toward the Impala and a very angry Max, at least they thought so. When the car came into view, Max was sitting in the back looking through Dean's cassettes. The boys got in, then turned to Max. She handed the box to Dean.

"What's you guys find out?" Dean spoke first.

"Local legend about a woman who kidnaps men and they're never seen again."

"Charming." Sam speaks next.

"Yeah, now we gotta do research to see if that's true." Max nodded and turned to Dean.

"Dean, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you were right." Sam and Dean look at her, shocked.

"I mean, I did freak out the last time I talked to a widow. But that was four years ago, you can trust me with this kind of stuff." The guys smiled and turned back around.

Dean and Sam were seated at a computer with Max standing behind them, looking up the legend the girls had told them about. Dean typed in 'Female Murder Hitchhiking', no results. He then tried 'Female Murder Centennial Highway', still nothing. Max sighed as Sam tried to type something.

"Let my try." Dean pushed his hand away.

"I got it!" Sam then pushes Dean's chair out of the way, Max laughs at them.

"Dude!" Dean punches Sam's arm, "You're such a control freak." Max hits his arm, then Sam speaks to them.

"So, angry spirits are born out of violent deaths, right?" Max answers him.

"Yeah?" Sam continues as he types something in the search engine.

"So maybe it's not murder." He types in 'Female Suicide Centennial Highway. One result. Max smiles at him.

"Good job, Sammy." Sam glances at her, then reads what's written in the article.

"This is 1981, Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge drowns in the river." Dean looks at her picture.

"Say why she did it?" Max looks over Sam's shoulder and answers.

"Yeah, an hour before they found her, she calls 911. Her two little kids are in the bathtub, she leaves them alone for a minute and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die." Sam and Dean sigh as Max continues reading the article.

"'Our babies were gone and Constance just couldn't bare it.' said husband Joseph Welch. Huh, that bridge look familiar?" The guys look at the bridge in the picture, the one where Troy vanished.

Later that night Sam, Dean, and Max go to Sylvania Bridge, hoping to find something if anything. They walk over to a railing and look at the river flowing beneath them. Dean speaks.

"So this is where Constance took the swan dive." Sam looks at him.

"So you think Dad would've been here?" Max looked at him.

"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him." They back away from the rail and Sam speaks, looking at Dean.

"Okay, so, now what?" Dean talks to him while walking down the bridge, Max keeping her distance from this conversation.

"We keep digging 'til we find him, might take a while." Sam sighed.

"Dean, I told you, I gotta get back by Mon…" Dean cuts him off, turning back to look at him. Max stays behind them, not liking where this was going.

"Monday. Right, the interview. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just gonna become some lawyer, marry your girl?" Sam looks him in the eye.

"Maybe, why not?" Dean stares at him.

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know the truth about what you've done?" Sam stops him.

"No, and she's not ever going to know." Dean nods once. Max watches them.

"Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later, you're gonna have to face up to what you really are." Sam scoffs as Dean starts walking again. Max follows them, trying to figure out a way to make them stop without fighting.

"And who's that?" Dean answers quickly answers.

"One of us." Sam hurries in front of him. Max stops a few feet behind Dean.

"No! I'm not like you, this is not going to be my life." Dean argues with him.

"You have a responsibility." Sam argues a little louder.

"To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures, I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like. What difference would it make? Even if we do find that thing that killed her, Mom's gone and she isn't coming back." At that, Dean grabs Sam by the collar and pushes him up against support pole. Max runs over and tries to get in between them, to no avail.

"Dean, let him go. Please, Dean, we have a job to do." Dean looks at her for a minute, then at Sam.

"Don't talk about her like that." He lets Sam go and turns away. Max looks up at Sam, silently asking if he's okay. Sam nods at her. They then hear Dean.

"Sam, Max." They turn and see Constance on the railing down the bridge. She looks at them, then falls. They run to the spot that she went over, only Constance is gone. Max speaks.

"Where'd she go?" Sam answers.

"I don't know." They hear the Impala start. They turn to see the headlights are on and shining on them. Dean steps toward his car.

"What the…?" Sam stands next to Dean, with Max on the other side of Sam.

"Who's driving your car?" Dean takes his keys out of his pocket. Max grabs Sam's arm as the Impala speed toward them. Sam looks at Max then pulls Dean's arm, telling them to run.

"Guys! Go, Go!" They run from the car rapidly catching up to them. Sam pulls Dean and Max over the side of the rail, which ultimately stops the Impala. Sam held onto one of the poles sticking out of the side, he looks up to see a hand extended toward him. Max helps him up.

"Come on, Sam. Come on." They sit on the edge of the bridge. Sam pants as he nods to Max, she nods back. They look at the water. Max yells for Dean.

"Dean?" Sam then tries.

"Dean!" They see Dean crawl out of the water to lay on the bank of the river.

"What?" Max lets out a sigh of relief as Sam yells down to him.

"Hey, you alright?" Dean gives he a-okay sign.

"I'm super." Max and Sam laugh as they climb back over the rail. Sam gets over first, then helps Max get over. He notices the ring he gave her on her finger.

"I'm surprised you still have that, Max. I'm surprised it fits." Max laughs.

"Well, ten years will do that." She smiles at him. They turn when they hear footsteps. Dean is walking toward them, absolutely covered in mud. Max has to cover her mouth to keep Dean from hearing her laugh. Sam smiles at her then goes over to Dean, who is checking the engine.

"Car okay?" Dean closed the hood.

"Yeah, whatever she did, it's gone now. That Constance chick, what a BITCH!" Dean sits on the hood, Sam right next to him and Max leans on the passenger door. Sam smells his brother.

"You smell like a toilet." Max bites her lip as Dean looks down at himself.

They drive to a nearby motel, Max stands outside while they go in to get a room. The breeze ruffles her hair as she turns to look at the boys, who are staring at her.

"What?" They shake their heads as Dean walks to a room. Max looks at Sam with a questioning look on her face.

"Dad bought out a room for the month, we're gonna go check it out." Max nods and follows Dean. They get to the room and Sam picks the lock while Max watches him, Dean keeps watch. Sam opens the door, he and Max look around the room which is covered in papers. They turn back to Dean, they grab him and pull him inside.

"Whoa." They look at the papers on the wall, which are the Centennial Highway victims. Max tunes out the guys as she looks at an article, the one they found. She turned on a light to see it better, and then she sees it.

"Huh. John figured it out." She looks at the guys and continues.

"Constance Welch, Woman in White." Sam comes over to her as Dean looks at the victims.

"Sly dog. If it's a Woman in White, Dad would've found the corpse and burned it." Sam looked at the article.

"She may have some other weakness." Max looked up at Sam.

"John would want to be sure, he'd destroy the corpse." Dean comes over.

"Say where she's planted?" Sam looks closer.

"Not that I can see. But, if I were Dad, I'd ask Joseph, the husband." Dean nods and head toward the bathroom.

"See if you can find an address, I'm gonna clean myself up." Sam stops him.

"Dean, I'm sorry, about what I said about Mom." Dean holds up his hand.

"No chick-flick moments." Sam laughs.

"Okay. Jerk." Dean drops his hand. "Bitch." Max laughs at them as Dean disappears and Sam sees something.

"You say he and I never change." Sam walks over to the mirror.

"Sam what is it." Max goes over to him, and sees the picture of John, Dean, and Sam from years ago. They looked happy. Max puts a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find him, Sam. I promise." Sam just nods an sets the picture down.

An hour later, Max was still looking through all the papers on the walls, Sam was listening to voicemails, and Dean was being, well, Dean.

"I'm gonna go grab some food, you guys want anything?" Max looks at him and shakes her head. Sam does the same. Dean shrugs and walks out. A minute later, Sam is talking to Jessica and Max gets a call from Dean.

"Forget something?" Dean peaks quickly.

"Max, cops, take off." Max signals Sam.

"What are you gonna do?" Sam looks at her as she mouths 'cops'.

"They saw me already, go find Dad." Dean hangs up. Max and Sam grab their stuff and jump out the bathroom window. They go around the building and see the cop car take off, with Dean in the back. They look at each other and head to the Impala. Max gets in the passenger side, with Sam driving.

"What do we do now, Max?" Max looks at him, coming up with a plan.

"You go talk to Joseph Welch, I'll get Dean out." Sam looks at her.

"How?" Max smiles at him.

"Who could say no to me?" Sam sighs and drive toward the police station.

Max called the station, claiming that shots were fired at a Whiteford Road. She waited in a dark alley, knowing Dean would come out that way. Sure enough, Dean climbs down the fire escape to where Max was standing.

"You owe me." Dean smiles at her as he walks toward the street.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Max rolls her eyes and follows him. It's then she notices the book in his hand.

"Dean, what's that?" Dean turns back to her without stopping, walking faster.

"Dad's journal." Max runs up to catch up.

"He doesn't go anywhere without that thing." Dean nods.

"Yeah, I know." They run to a nearby phone booth so Dean could call Sam. After a minute of talking, Dean speaks loudly into the phone.

"Sam? Sam?" Dean hangs up an runs down the street, Max following.

"Dean? What happened?" He kept running, but yelled back to her.

"Constance." That was enough for her. They ran until they cam to an abandoned old house, with the Impala sitting in front. The engine was still going, and that was the only sound heard. Dean took out his pistol, Max did the same. They slowly approached the car, when they heard Sam scream in pain. They ran toward the driver side and saw Constance, or what was Constance. Dean and Max started firing at the ghost, trying to help Sam. The ghost disappeared, then Sam started the car.

"I'm taking you home." He slammed on the gas, driving straight into the old house. Max yelled for him.

"Sam!" Dean and Max ran inside, throwing pieces of wood out of the way. Dean ran to the passenger side, Max right behind him.

"Sam, you okay? Can you move?" Sam groaned.

"Yeah, help me?" Dean pulled the door open, then Max reached in and pulled Sam out.

"Easy, easy. Come on." Dean closed the door as Sam leaned against the car. They all turned to see Constance looking at an old framed photograph. She looks at them, then throws down the picture. Out of nowhere, a dresser comes flying at them pinning them to the car. They try to push it away, but it won't budge. Constance starts toward them, then the lights flicker. Max looks behind Constance.

"Guys." Sam and Dean look too, water pours down the stairs. Then two children appear at the top, holding hands.

"You've come home, Mommy." They look back at Constance as the children appear next to her, then hug her. Constance screams out. Max turns away, burying her face in Sam's arm. When the screaming stops, Sam and Dean push the dresser away. They walk over to where Constance vanished, only a small pool of water remained. Dean speaks.

"So this is where she drowned her kids." Sam glances at him.

"She was scared to go home. She couldn't face them." Max sighs in relief as Dean continues.

"Nice work, Sammy." Dean hits him on the chest, where Constance's hand had gone almost through. Max hits Dean on the arm and goes to check Sam out. Sam laughs through the pain.

"Yeah, can't say the same to you. What were you guys thinking, shooting a ghost in the face, you freaks." Max looks at him and smiles, hitting his chest again.

"Nothing to deep, you'll live." Dean laughs.

"Saved your ass. Let me tell you if you jacked up my car, I'll kill you." Max looks at Sam and they laugh as Dean looks back at his car. They all get in the car and drive out of there.

About a half hour away from Palo Alto, Sam figures out where the coordinates John left point to.

"Okay, Blackwater Ridge, Colorado. That's where Dad went." Dean looks down at the map.

"Charming. How far?" Sam looks at the map again.

"Six hundred miles." Dean looks at the dash.

"We have enough gas, make it there by morning." Sam looks at Dean, but Max answers for him.

"Dean, he can't." Dean looks at her then Sam.

"The interview is in the morning, I have to be there." Dean nods.

"Yeah, okay, we'll take you home." Dean speeds up a little. They get to Sam's apartment, that awkward feeling setting in. Sam gets out and heads for the building, then Max stops him.

"Sam," Sam turns back to her. She gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, "your gonna knock 'em dead at the interview." Sam smiles at her and nods. Max gets in the front seat, as Sam leans in the window looking at Dean.

"Call me if you find Dad." Dean nods as Max actually tells him.

"You got it." Sam smirks at his brother.

"Maybe I can meet you guys, after a while?" Dean finally speaks.

"Yeah, sure." Sam gives a slight wave to Max, who returns it. Dean starts the car, then yells to Sam.

"Sam, we all made a great team back there. Kinda like old times." Sam smiles.

"Yeah, we did." Dean nods and looks ahead. Max smiles at Sam.

"Bye, Sam." Sam nods as Max and Dean drive off. Max lets out a loud sigh. Dean looks at her.

"What's wrong with you?" Max looks at him.

"Four years of not seeing each other and it all comes down to 'Hi.' 'Bye.'?" Dean shakes his head as Max looks out the window. Just then the radio becomes all static. Max and Dean look at the radio, then each other. Dean does an immediate U-turn and guns it back to Sam's apartment. By the time they get there, smoke is pouring out of Sam's window. Dean and Max get out and run for the building. Dean kicks in the door and runs to the bedroom. They get there and he is lying on his bed with flames surrounding him. Dean yells out.

"Sam. Sam!" He looks at the ceiling, noticing something, or someone is there. Max follows his gaze.

"Sam, come on. Come on!" She tries to push past Dean to get to Sam, but Dean grabs him and pulls him out. Sam is screaming.

"Jess! Jess!" They get Sam out of there as the room is completely engulfed in flames. By the time they get outside, firemen are there getting the fire under control. Dean and Max stand behind a crowd, watching the smoke. Max looks behind her at Sam. Dean speaks to her while looking at Sam, too.

"You don't have to help us. This is way beyond your pay grade, Max. You can walk away, right now. We wouldn't hold it against you." Max looks at him.

"I'm not going anywhere." They walk over to Sam, who is loading a shotgun. He looks at Dean, then Max. Max tries to comfort him in some way, but decides it wouldn't help. Sam throws the shotgun into the trunk.

"We got work to do." Sam slams the trunk closed.

_A.N. Hope you liked it. Took five hours, but totally worth it! Please review, I want to make it better if need be._


	2. Wendigo

_Yay, another chapter. Again, I don't own anything Supernatural or anything like it, I just own Max._

Wendigo

_Lost Creek, Colorado_

Two weeks. The amount of time that passed since Jessica died, since Sam's world came crashing down. Much to Dean's surprise, Max had kept her promise by sticking around. Apparently, four years apart hadn't changed Max's nature. Dean was driving toward Blackwater Ridge, where John supposedly was. Max was in the back seat looking at a map of the area, and finding a whole lot of nothing. All of a sudden, Sam jerked awake in the passenger seat. Dean and Max turned to look at him, worried looks on both of their faces. Dean glanced at the road, then back at Sam.

"You alright?" Sam looked at them both.

"Yeah." Max leaned up to look at him better.

"Nightmare?" He glanced at her, and cleared his throat. Dean then said the absolute last thing Sam and Max were expecting.

"Wanna drive?" They stared at Dean with a shocked expression on their faces.

"Dude, the entire time you've owned this car you never once asked me that." Max continued.

"You never let _me_ drive it, either." Dean stared at her for a minute.

"Last time you drove her, you almost turned us into a pretzel. Nevermind then, to both of you." Max rolled her eyes and sat back. Sam slightly smiled and looked at Dean.

"Dean, I get it. You're worried, you both are. But, I'm okay. Really." Max looked at Dean in the rearview and shook her head, Dean didn't buy it either. Dean then spoke to Sam.

"Yeah, well, it's no coincidence. This thing showing up after twenty years, so if we're gonna find this thing…" Max continued.

"We gotta find John." Sam and Dean nodded. Sam opened the glove box, then not finding what he was looking for turned to the backseat.

"The map?" Max picked it up off the floor and handed it to him.

"Good luck finding anything." The guys gave her a confused look. Sam spoke.

"What do you mean?" Max leaned up and looked between the boys as she spoke.

"Blackwater Ridge? There's nothing there, just woods. Why would John send us to the middle of nowhere?" Neither Sam or Dean had answer. Max put a hand on Sam's shoulder, causing him to look at her. She gave him a slight smile, silently telling him she was there for him. Sam smiled back and nodded. They all turned, looking at the blacktop ahead. Heading to the middle of nowhere, while looking for a missing father. Great.

Dean pulled into the ranger station, they needed more information before going blindly into the woods. Sam noticed a 3D map sitting in the middle of the room, Max followed him as Dean wandered.

"Blackwater Ridge is pretty secluded, cut off by canyons and abandoned mines everywhere." Dean's voice cut into his thinking.

"Dude, look at the size of this freaking bear." Max snorted at him, leave it to Dean. Max and Sam walk over to him. The bear was bigger than the three hunters surrounding it. Max looked at Dean.

"And a bunch of grizzlies in the area, fantastic." Dean rolled his eyes at her. A ranger came out of the office and spoke to Them.

"You're not going out to Blackwater Ridge are you?" Sam made up a quick defense.

"Oh, no we're grad students doing a paper on the wildlife here." Dean followed up with a stupid comment.

"Yeah, recycle." Max let out a sigh and shoved him with her shoulder. The ranger didn't believe them.

"Yeah, right. You're with that Hailey girl, aren't you?" Max thought for a second, then answered him.

"Yes. Yes, you caught us. We are Ranger, Wilkinson." Wilkinson nodded.

"Well, you tell her that her brother has a permit and that he won't be back 'til the 24th. So he can't exactly be missing, can he?" They shook their head at him, "Tell her that her brother is just fine." Dean stepped forward as the ranger turned back toward the office.

"We will. She's a pistol, isn't she? You know, could I get a copy of that permit? So I could show her the return date of her brother." Max rolled her eyes at him as Sam let out a sigh. The ranger nodded and went into the office. They walked outside, Dean chuckling to himself. Sam wasn't amused.

"You looking for a hook-up or something?" Max looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" Sam kept walking toward the Impala.

"Coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, why don't we just go, why talk to her?" Dean looked at his brother.

"Maybe we should find out what we're dealing with before we head out there." Max stared at Sam, he noticed.

"What, Max?" Max shrugged.

"Since when are you shoot first ask later, Sam?" Sam looked at her seriously.

"Since now." Sam opened his door and got in. Max turned to Dean, a worried look on her face. Dean shook his head, they both sighed and got in.

They drove to the girl, Hailey Collins' house. Dean knocked and a girl around Max's age answered.

"Yes?" Dean held up his fake badge.

"Hailey Collins? I'm Dean, this is Sam and Max. We're with the Park Service, Ranger Wilkinson sent us. We want to ask you some questions about Tommy." She looked at all of them before speaking.

"Let me see your I.D." Dean gave it to her. Hailey studied it for a minute, then handed it back.

"Come on in." She looked past them and saw the Impala, "That your car?" Dean glanced at his car, then back to her.

"Yeah." Hailey smiled.

"Nice." Dean nodded his thanks. He then sent a mischievous grin to Sam and Max, who just rolled their eyes. Sam spoke to her first.

"If Tommy isn't supposed to get back for a couple days, what makes you think something's wrong?" Hailey went into the kitchen and grabbed a plate of food and set it on the table.

"He calls, everyday. Or, he sends these little videos. He hasn't done either in the past two days." Max raised her eyebrows.

"Maybe he can't get reception? I mean, it is the middle of nowhere." Hailey shook her head.

"He has a satellite phone, too. It's just not like him." Dean then spoke.

"Maybe he's just having too much fun?" Just then, Hailey's younger brother snapped at Dean.

"He wouldn't do that." They looked at him, then Hailey explained.

"Our folks are gone, it's just me and my brothers." Max nodded.

"Know exactly what you mean." Hailey smiled at her and continued.

"We keep tabs on each other." Sam looked at her.

"Can I see the stuff he sent?" Hailey nodded.

"Yeah. Here." She grabbed her laptop and opened a video file. Her brother popped up on the screen.

"Hey, Hailey. Still out at Blackwater Ridge, talk to you tomorrow." Max looked at Sam when she noticed something go across the background. Dean nodded, then looked at Hailey.

"We'll find your brother. We're heading out there, first thing." Hailey nodded.

"Guess I'll see you there, then." All three of them looked at her, then at each other.

"Look, I'm not gonna keep sitting here waiting for news. I hired someone, and I'm heading out tomorrow morning to find Tommy." Dean looked at her.

"Know how you feel." Hailey nodded slightly, then Sam grabbed her attention.

"Can you send me these?" Hailey nodded at him.

They were at a bar later that evening, Dean doing what he does best. Sam was studying the video Tommy sent, as Max looked through incident reports going back a century. She let out a sigh and laid her head on the table. Sam looked at her.

"What's wrong?" Max turned her head to look at him without leaning up.

"I can't figure out what it is." Sam gave her a confused look.

"What? Max, you're the only person I know who can tell what creature did what with just an accident report and you can't figure this out? What's different about this thing?" Max leaned up and looked at Sam.

"First of all, thank you for that. Second, it's not what's different, it's just there's too many options. It could be any number of things. I mean black dog, ghost, skinwalker, demon, hell even a grizzly bear makes the list." Sam raised an eyebrow at her.

"A grizzly?" Max glanced at the papers in front of her.

"Okay, maybe not a grizzly." Sam laughed and went back to his computer. Dean walked over with a beer in his hand.

"Anything?" Max looked at him and told him what she had found.

"Yeah. Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a whole lot of people out there, but in April two hikers went missing, never to be seen again." Dean nodded.

"Any before that?" Max nodded.

"Uh huh. 1982, eight people vanish the exact same way, authorities claim it was a grizzly attack. Then again in 1959, and again in 1936. Every twenty-three years, like clock work." Sam then turned his laptop toward Dean, Max got up and went around the table to see.

"Check this out. This is Tommy's video, watch." Sam hit the next frame key three times, and a dark shadow passes behind Tommy. Dean looked closer, as did Max.

"Do it again." Sam repeated the video.

"Three frames, fraction of a second. Whatever it is, it's fast." Max then grabbed one of the pieces of paper on the table.

"Also, in 1959, one survivor of the attack. Little kid." Dean grabbed the paper.

"Got a name?" Max nodded. They packed up their stuff and walked out the door.

"Look, rangers, why are you asking me all this now? It's in the records, and I was just a kid when my parents got mauled…" Sam cut him off.

"By a grizzly? That's what happened?" Mr. Shawe paused a moment. Dean stepped forward as he nodded.

"What about the others that year? Grizzly attack them, too? What about this year, same thing?" Max went around him and spoke to Mr. Shawe.

"Mr. Shawe, if we knew what was out there, we could stop it." He took the cigarette out of his mouth and sat down.

"I highly doubt it, young lady. What difference would it make, nobody believed me, you won't either." Max cocked her head, then sat down in front of him. Sam and Dean were right behind her.

"Mr. Shawe, what did you see. Please, tell us." He looked at her.

"It came in the middle of the night. Moved so quick, didn't see it at all." Sam spoke

"It got inside your tent?" Mr. Shaw shook his head.

"Our cabin. It didn't break a window, smash the door open. It unlocked it. What grizzly could possibly do that? Went right past me, straight up to my parents' room. Didn't even know it was there, until my parents started screaming." Max took his hand.

"It killed them?" Mr. Shawe nodded.

"Dragged them outside. Left me alive, don't know why. Left me with these." Mr. Shawe pulled down his shirt, revealing three long scratches. Max looked at them, then Mr. Shawe as he continued.

"Whatever's out there, it ain't human." Max looked at the boys, nodding to them. They thanked Mr. Shawe and left. Dean spoke as they walked down the hall.

"Well it ain't a ghost or demon, they can just go through the walls." Sam followed his thought.

"Yeah, so it's something else, something corporeal." Dean smirks at him.

"Corporeal. 'Scuse me, professor." Max continued.

"Anyway, with claws like that and with the speed? It maybe a black dog or a skinwalker." Dean cut her off.

"Something corporeal, which means something we can kill." Max rolled her eyes. They got outside and went straight for the trunk of the Impala. They grabbed just about every weapon they could carry, then Sam spoke up.

"We can't let Hailey got out there." Max got her bag out as Dean closed the trunk.

"What are we gonna say? 'There's a big scary monster, don't go.'?" Sam shrugged.

"Yeah." Max turned to him.

"Her brother is missing, Sam She's not gonna sit this out, so we're gonna go. Get out there and protect her, from anything that might be out there." Sam looked between her and Dean.

"So finding Dad isn't enough? We gotta baby-sit her, too?" Dean and Max stared at him.

"What?" Dean spoke first.

"Nothing." Dean threw the back at him, hard, then walked to the driver side. Max just kept staring at Sam.

"What, Max." Max slightly shook her head, then forced a smile.

"Forget it." She dropped the smile and got in the back seat. Sam sighed and followed them.

They drove in silence to where Hailey and Ben were meeting their guide, Roy. Dean stopped the car and got out.

"Room for a few more?" Sam and Max got out, bags in hand, and followed Dean. Hailey spoke to Dean.

"You wanna come?" Sam and Max walked up to stand next to Dean, as Roy spoke to Hailey.

"Who are these guys?" Hailey glanced at them, then back at Roy.

"All that would go on a search party." Sam walked away from Dean. Max watched him go, then followed after him. Roy looked at them.

"You're rangers?" Dean nodded.

"Yes, sir." Hailey looked him up and down.

"So biker boots and jeans are the new ranger dress code?" Dean looked down at himself, then walked up the hill.

"I don't do shorts, sweetheart." Dean smiled at her and went to join Max and Sam. Roy spoke to him as he passed by.

"You think this is funny? It's not nature hike out there." Max walked forward to Roy.

"Believe me, we know it's dangerous. We just want to help them find their brother. Besides, I feel much more in danger with you here. After all, you're the one with the big gun." Sarcasm rolled off Max's tongue. She turned and walked past Sam, grabbing her bag in the process. Sam and Dean both smirked as she walked away.

The group had been walking for a couple hours, the sun was directly overhead. Roy and Dean started talking. All of a sudden, Roy grabbed Dean. Sam and Max rushed forward. Dean held up a hand.

"What's up, Roy?" Roy picked up a stick and threw it down onto a bear trap.

"Watch where you step, ranger." Dean turned back to the group.

"Bear trap." Max sighed and followed behind Hailey and Ben. Sam and Max were walking side by side, in awkward silence. Sam then decided to break it.

"So, you never said what you did the last four years." Max didn't look at him.

"You're right, I didn't." When she didn't continue, Sam looked at her.

"Come on, Max. What did you do?" Max let out a sigh.

"Studied to be a doctor. Thought that, with our line of work, wouldn't hurt to have someone around who actually knew what they were doing. I actually have my medical license." Sam whistled.

"Wow. Good for you, Max." Max nodded and the silence returned after that. A little while later, Dean was stopped by Hailey, who had asked who they really were. Max and Sam looked at him and nodded.

"Sam and I are brothers. Max is an old friend of ours, who is helping us look for our dad. He might be here, but we don't really know." Hailey looked away, then back at him.

"Why didn't you just say that?" Dean shrugged.

"Sayin' it now, which is the most honest I've ever been with at woman. Well, except for Max. And I packed provisions." Dean pulled out a bag of peanut M&M's and walked past Max and Sam, with the bag in his hand. Max rolled her eyes at him. They walked a couple more miles, then Roy stopped them.

"Blackwater Ridge." Sam looked into the distance.

"What coordinates?" Roy took out his satellite phone, as Dean and Max came up beside Sam.

"35, -111." Sam kept staring as Max looked around them, it was too quiet.

"You guys hear that?" Sam responded.

"Mm hm, not even crickets." Roy spoke up.

"Im gonna look around." Sam looked at him.

"You shouldn't go off far." Roy smiled sarcastically.

"That's sweet, worry about yourself before you worry about me." Max glared at him as he passed.

"I don't like this, guys. Something's off." Dean nodded, then turned to Hailey and Ben.

"Okay, lets stay together. Come on." Dean walked off, everyone following him. Roy shouted to them.

"Over here!" Hailey took off in the direction of his voice. When she got to him, it wasn't a pretty sight.

"Oh, God." The campsite was a total wreck. The tents were torn, and blood was evident on all of them. Roy spoke to Hailey.

"Grizzly, if I had to guess." Hailey dropped her bag and called for her brother.

"Tommy? Tommy!" Sam came up next to her, shushing her.

"Shhh." Hailey looked at him.

"Why?" Sam looked around the camp.

"We don't know if it's still out there." Max wandered outside the camp, and found something. She yelled to Sam and Dean.

"Guys." They followed her voice to where she was.

"The bodies were dragged, but then the tracks disappear. One thing's for sure, this isn't a skinwalker and it definitely isn't a black dog." Max stood up next to the boys. They walked back to the campsite, Dean kneeled next to Hailey who was looking at a smashed up phone. Probably Tommy's. All of a sudden, a voice cried out.

"Help! Help Me!" Max looked at Sam, then in the direction of the voice. They grabbed a weapon out of their bags, then took off in the same direction. They ran to the spot of the voice, but found no one. Hailey looked around.

"Could've sworn it was coming from here." Dean, Sam, and Max look at each other then at forest. Sam spoke to them.

"Back to camp. Now." They all ran back, but the bags were gone. Realization hit Max. She walked over to Sam and Dean.

"I need to talk to you guys, alone." They walked into the woods. Max turned to Dean.

"Can I see John's journal?" He handed it to her, and she flipped through pages until she found the one she was looking for.

"Here." Max handed it back to them. Dean scoffed.

"No, Wendigos are Minnesota and Northern Michigan. There's no way one would be this far west." Max shook her head a him.

"Think about it, Dean. Mimicking a human voice, the speed, the claws. It's a Wendigo." Max looked at Sam.

"I gotta agree, Dean." Dean sighed as he closed to book.

"Well, this is useless." He held up his gun. They walked back to camp, Sam talking to Hailey, Ben, and Roy.

"Alright, we gotta go. Things just got, complicated." Roy stood up.

"Don't worry, kid. I got this." Sam glared at him.

"Really? This thing is a perfect hunter, if you shoot it you're gonna piss it off." Roy stepped closer to him.

"You know, I was hunting things while you were still in diapers." Sam stepped closer, too.

"So you really think you can kill a wen…" Max cut him off as she stepped between them, looking at Sam.

"Sam! Stop it! Not here, not now." Sam looked at her, then walked off. Max stared after him. She turned to Dean, he shrugged. Dean turned back to Hailey

"This thing, it's a great hunter in the day, but an unbelievable one at night. We won't outrun it. We need to protect ourselves." Max looked back in Sam's direction.

Max looked at the symbols she had drawn, hopefully it would keep the Wendigo away long enough. She looked at the rest of the circle, then walked over to where Sam was sitting. She sat next to him.

"You okay?" Sam looked at her, then shook his head.

"What are we doing?" Max looked at him.

"Our job. What we were trained to do. I know it's not what you want to hear, Sam. But it's what we do, it's who we are. As much as I want to tell you different, I can't. I'm sorry, Sam." Sam nodded. Max looked up, Dean had come over to them. Dean sat across from them.

"Wanna tell me what's up?" Sam looked at him.

"Dean…" Max cut him off.

"Sam, you are not fine. And if you say you are, I will slap you." Sam looked at her, then Dean.

"Dad's not here, probably never was." Dean nodded.

"You're probably right." Sam looked at him.

"Lets get these people back then get out of here. Lets go find Dad, I mean, why are we still here?" He threw a stick in anger. Max looked at Dean. He took out John's journal.

"This. Dad's most valuable possession, everything he knows about every evil thing he's faced, it's all here. He gave it to us. I think he wants us to pick up his trail. Saving people, hunting things, you know the family business." Sam looked at him.

"But, why doesn't he call, or anything?" Dean looked at the journal, then at Sam.

"I see it as, he's given us a job. And I intend to do it." Sam looked down.

"No. I gotta find Dad, find Jessica's killer. It's all I think about, guys. All I think about." Max put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sam, we will. I promise, we will find John. And we will find the thing that killed Jess." Dean looked at them.

"But, it might take a long time. You ready for that? Cause that anger and rage, it will kill you. One day at a time." Sam looked at Max and Dean.

"How do you do it. Either of you, how do you do it?" Max squeezed his shoulder.

"I have these two guys, real pains in the ass, who remind me to stay grounded, so to speak." Sam and Dean smile at her. Dean then spoke, looking at Hailey and Ben.

"Them. Keeping them from being as screwed up as us. And helping other families not be like us. And killing as many evil sons of bitches I can find." They smirk at each other. Then the same cry for help is heard.

"Help! Help!" They ran toward the voice, not stepping outside the circle. Dean spoke.

"It's trying to get us out there, stay put." Roy smirked.

"Inside the magic circle?" Max glared at him.

"Shut up, Roy. Unless you want to be eaten by this thing." The voice cried out again, only it then turned into an inhuman growl. Roy's gripped tightened on his gun.

"Okay, not a grizzly." It was quiet, then leaves started rustling right by the circle. Sam shined his flashlight into the woods.

"It's here." Roy fired his gun, hitting the thing.

"I hit it." He took off into the woods, Sam and Dean ran after him. Dean turned to Max. "Stay here, protect them." Max grabbed a torch out of the fire and stood at the edge of the circle where the boys had taken off. She watched the forest, waiting for something. A few minutes later, Sam and Dean came back, no Roy. The rest of the night was spent on edge, not knowing if they were being watched or hunted.

Sam was sitting against a tree trunk, fiddling with a bracelet on John's journal. Max went and sat next to him.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here, and guess that what we talked about last night wasn't anywhere near half of what's wrong." Sam nodded.

"I was gonna propose to her, Max." Max nodded, then laced her fingers through his.

"You know you can talk to me, Sam. I'm your friend, I'm not going anywhere." Sam looked at her.

"Why did you stay? You could've gone, left this with us. Why?" Max laid her head on his shoulder, then Sam laid his on hers.

"Because I wasn't gonna just walk away from two people who need as much help as they can get. And besides, I'm in this now." Sam looked at her and smiled. They got up and headed back to the campsite. Sam spoke to Hailey.

"Okay, we have a chance in daylight. And I want to kill this son of a bitch." Dean smiled.

"You know I'm game." They turned to Max.

"No way am I sitting sidelines." The boys nodded and started talking about what the Wendigo was. Once it was clearly explained that they had to burn the thing to death, they started walking in some direction. Sam noticed claw marks along the trees, leading them deeper into the forest. After a few hours, Sam stopped them. Dean and Max stood next to them. He spoke to them.

"You know, they were so clear and distinct…" Max finished his thought.

"An easy trail to follow." They heard something move fast behind them, they moved behind the trees nearby to get some cover. Hailey then screamed as Roy's body fell from above her. Max ran over to him.

"His necks broken." Dean looked around them, grabbing Max's arm.

"Run, run!" Dean, Hailey, and Max ran, when the Wendigo appeared in front of them. Hailey screamed, but they were caught.

Max woke up with a gasp, she hurt all over. It was dark wherever she was, and skeletons littered the ground. Max groaned as she blinked the blurriness from her eyes, it was then she noticed she was suspended in the air. She was hanging a few feet off the ground, her hands tied above her and the rope was wrapped around the beam overhead. Max looked down, and noticed three slashes in her bloodstained shirt. She flexed her stomach muscles and gasped at the pain.

"Owe." Max looked to her left, and saw Dean and Hailey suspended like she was. She quietly tried to wake them up.

"Dean. Dean! Wake up! Hailey!" Max closed her eyes, then looked up with a determined look on her face. She grabbed onto the rope, and pulled herself up. She climbed a few inches then dropped, trying to snap the rope using her weight. She groaned with each drop, the wounds on her stomach re-opening and bleeding. After a few failed tries, she spoke while she tried again.

"I am not dying like this. No way in Hell!" When she fell, the beams broke. Sam and Ben fell through the floor, landing a few feet from her. She groaned as she sat up, Sam appeared next to her.

"Max, you okay?" Max nodded as Sam cut her restraints.

"Get Dean." Sam left her side to go to Dean. She touched her stomach, fresh blood appearing on her hand.

"Damn it." Max got up and moved to their bags nearby. She sifted through them, then found flare guns. She called to the boys.

"Sam, Dean." She showed them the guns. Sam smiled.

"Flare guns, those'll work." Both Sam and Dean grabbed the ones Max held out to them. Sam and Dean led the way out of the cave, Max right behind them with a hand over her stomach. Hailey and Ben supported Tommy, carrying him through the tunnel. Then a growl was heard form a nearby tunnel, the guys stopped and Max had to lean against the wall. Dean looked around the corner.

"Guess who's home." Hailey looked at him.

"We'll never make it out." Dean looked at Sam and Max.

"You gotta plan?" Max shook her head, as well as Sam. Dean nodded his head and turned to Hailey.

"Okay, follow them, Sam and Max will get you out." Max looked at Dean.

"What about you?" Dean winked at her.

"Dinner time, freaky bastard! Yeah, baby, I taste good!" Max rolled her eyes and stood up. Sam and Max walked down the tunnel, then heard a growl. Sam turned to Max.

"Get them out of here, Max." Max looked at him, wide-eyed.

"What?!" Sam nudged her forward.

"Go." Sam took off. Max looked at Hailey.

"Come on." Max led them down the tunnel, using the wall as support. They heard one of the flare guns go off. Max called behind them.

"Sam!" Sam cam running down the tunnel.

"Go, go!" He pushed them faster down the tunnel, to a dead end. Sam and Max stood in front of Hailey and her brothers. Max handed Sam her gun. Sam looked at her.

"Max, what…?" Max held up a hand.

"I can barely see straight, Sam. You take it." Sam put one arm around her, keeping her steady. The Wendigo slowly came around the corner, Sam raised the gun. Dean yelled from behind it.

"Hey!" It turned and Dean shot it. The Wendigo went up in flames, then it fell to the ground. Dean smiled at them, then they all walked out together.

The paramedic had just finished patching up Max, when they rolled Tommy over on a stretcher. She got up and walked over to the Impala and sat next to Dean. Hailey walked over to them.

"How can I thank you guys?" Dean shrugged. Hailey laughed.

"You just have to cheapen it, don't you." Max answered for him.

"You have no idea." Hailey smiled and kissed Dean on the cheek. Dean watched her go, then turned to Max.

"What'd the doc say, doc?" Max rolled her eyes.

"Some blood loss, cuts, scratches. Basically, a normal day's work." Dean nodded and nudged her with his shoulder. Sam came over to them and sat next to Max. Dean spoke to both of them.

"I hate camping." They laughed, but then Max spoke her mind.

"You guys know, we will find John." They nodded while watching the ambulance leave. Sam smiled and looked at Dean.

"But, I'm driving." Max smiled and looked at Dean, too. Dean pulled the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Sam. Max stood up and went to the backdoor and got in, following them. Sam started the car and sped off down the road.


	3. Dead in the Water

_Sorry for the hiatus, it's been a stressful couple of weeks. Anyway, don't own Supernatural, just Max. I realized I never said who Max looks like, she looks like Emilie De Ravin only a bit taller._

Dead in the Water.

_Des Moines, Iowa_

Dean, Sam, and Max stopped at a roadside diner, Dean wanted to get food and look for a case before they went back out on the road. Max was in the bathroom, looking at the scars on her stomach. They were healing up nicely, she even thought that they would eventually disappear. She pulled her shirt down, gasping at the pain that came from moving her stomach muscles. The scratches still hurt her, not that she would tell anyone. Max collected herself and left the bathroom. She approached Dean, who was smiling at the waitress. Sam entered and sat next to him.

"Just the check, please." The waitress nodded and walked away, causing Dean to drop his head in disappointment. Max laughed and sat on his left as Dean spoke to Sam.

"You know we can have fun, right. That was fun." Sam looked at him with a serious expression on his face. Max nudged Dean's shoulder with hers.

"Find anything good, Romeo?" Dean smirked at her, then turned back to his paper.

"Yeah, Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Sophie Carlton, last week, goes for a little swim in the lake, doesn't come back. The authorities dragged the whole lake, nothing. She's the third drowning for Lake Manitoc this year, none of the others were found either. Sophie's funeral was two days ago." Sam looked at the paper.

"Funeral? I thought they didn't find her." Max took the paper.

"Apparently they buried an empty casket. For some sort of closure I guess." Sam looked at her.

"Closure? Max, what closure? People don't just vanish and people don't just stop looking for them." Max raised her eyebrow at him, but Dean spoke.

"Somethin' on your mind?" Sam took a deep breathe.

"Dad's trail, is getting colder and colder." Dean looked at him.

"Yeah, so what do we do?" Sam shrugged.

"I don't know, something." Dean stared at him.

"You know, I'm getting sick of your attitude." Max interrupted them.

"Guys! Hey! Enough." Max looked at the paper, then at Dean.

"Lake Manitoc, how far?" They left the diner, and drove toward Wisconsin.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

They pulled up to Sophie Carlton's house, they had to question her father and brother about what happened. Dean knocked on the door, and a younger guy answered.

"Will Carlton?" Will nodded as Dean held up a fake I.D.

"I'm Agent Ford, this is Agents Hamill and Carter. We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service." Will nodded and opened the door wider for them. He led them out back to the lake.

"She was a long way out, maybe a hundred yards. That's when she disappeared." Dean looked at him.

"And she didn't just drown?" Will shook his head.

"No, she swam on the varsity team. And she practically grew up in this lake." Max looked at him.

"So, no signs of distress? At all?" Will shook his head.

"No." Sam continued for her.

"Any shadows in the water, or anything breaking the surface?" Will looked at the lake.

"Again, she was so far out." Dean glanced at the forest.

"Any tracks leading away?" Will looked a them seriously.

"No, why? What's out there." Max stepped forward.

"Is there anyway your dad might have seen anything? Can we talk to him?" Will looked at his dad who was sitting on the dock, staring at the water.

"He's really not in the mood to talk, you understand?" They nodded and walked back around the house. Max opened her door, but didn't get in. Dean looked at her.

"Max, what's wrong?" Max looked at the lake, then spoke.

"It's just, I can kinda relate to what Will's going through." Sam spoke to her.

"What, losing a sister?" Max shook her head.

"Losing a sibling." Dean gave her a confused look.

"You had a sibling, thought you were an only child?" Max looked at him.

"I am, but I lost these two guys who are like brothers to me, lost them for four years. So… yeah." Max got in the car. Dean raised an eyebrow and watched her get in, then looked at Sam.

"Why do I have a feeling this might come back to bite us in the ass." Sam laughed as he got in.

"Only you, Dean, can turn a moment into a guilt trip." Dean shrugged.

"At least I called." Dean got in and started the Impala, then drove off.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They drove to the sheriff station next, they needed to get more information on the area and the lake. The sheriff spoke to them.

"Now, why does the Wildlife Service care about some accidental drownings?" Sam spoke as they followed the sheriff through the building.

"Sure it was an accident? Will Carlton saw something in the water with his sister." The sheriff glanced at him.

"Like what? Nothing carnivorous and nothing big enough to pull down a human lives in that lake. Unless, it's the Loch Ness Monster." Dean raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"Yeah." The sheriff continued.

"Will was traumatized, his eyes were playing tricks on him. We dragged the whole lake, sonar even, there was nothing. No body at all." Max spoke up.

"Yes it's weird, but Sophie is the third drowning and missing body this year." The sheriff nodded.

"Believe me, I know. These are my friends, people I care about." Max nodded.

"We know." The sheriff sighed.

"Anyway, it won't be a problem much longer." Dean raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" The sheriff shrugged.

"The dam." Sam and Max looked at Dean as he spoke.

"Right, yeah, the dam. It, it's leaking." The sheriff nodded.

"Falling apart, actually. And we can't get the grant to fix it, so the Feds have prepared a spill-away. Six months, lake will be gone. So will most of the town. But, you already knew that." Dean opened his mouth to reply, but Max cut him off.

"Yes, we did. We just have to double check our facts." The sheriff nodded as the door opened and a dark-haired woman walked in.

"I hope I'm not interrupting. I can come back." Max, Sam, and Dean stood up. The sheriff spoke to them.

"Agents, this is my daughter." Dean held out his hand.

"Pleasure, I'm Dean." Max rolled her eyes as the woman shook Dean's hand.

"Andrea Barr, nice to meet you." Dean nodded as the sheriff watched them.

"They're Wildlife Service, here about the lake." Andrea nodded. A little boy appeared behind her. Dean knelt down and spoke to him.

"Hey there, what's your name." The boy just looked at Dean, then looked back down. Dean stood up as Andrea led her son outside. The sheriff spoke, looking at the door.

"That's Lucas." They watched as Andrea handed Lucas some art supplies and he started drawing. Sam turned to the sheriff.

"He alright?" The sheriff sighed. Dean and Max gave him a confused look.

"My grandson's been through so much. So have Andrea and I." They turned back to the door as the sheriff came around his desk.

"If there's anything else…" Max nodded as they exited.

"Thank you, sheriff." Dean stopped and turned to Andrea.

"Actually, can you point us in the direction of a decent motel?" Andrea nodded.

"Lakefront Motel. Around the corner, two blocks south." Dean thought for a second.

"Would you mind showing us?" Sam and Max rolled their eyes and sighed silently. Andrea raised an eyebrow at him.

"Walk you two blocks?" Dean shrugged and gave her an innocent look.

"If it's not too much trouble." Andrea nodded.

"I need to go that way anyway," she looked at her father, "I'll pick Lucas up at 3." She kissed Lucas's forehead and spoke to him.

"We can go to the park later." She stood up and walked to the door. They waved to the sheriff who nodded. Andrea walked down the sidewalk, Dean right beside her, talking. Sam and Max were behind them. Max looked up at Sam.

"Five bucks she rejects him right off the back." Sam smiled at her.

"You're on." They stopped in front of the motel. Andrea spoke to them.

"Here you go, two blocks. Just like I said." Max looked at her.

"Thanks, Andrea." Andrea nodded and turned back to Dean.

"Must be hard with your sense of direction. Not being able to find your way to a decent pickup line. Enjoy your stay." Max snorted as Sam spoke to Dean.

"Kids are the best?" Dean looked at them as Max spoke with a huge smile on her face.

"Dean, you hate kids." Dean spoke with a defensive look on his face.

"I love kids." Sam spoke.

"Name three kids you even know." Dean held out his hand, trying to think of some names. When he couldn't, Sam waved his arm at Dean and walked to the front desk of the motel. Max followed him, smiling as Dean scratched his head.

"I'm thinking." Sam was waiting at the front desk as Max came up next to him and held out her hand. Sam sighed and looked at her.

"Really?" Max smiled.

"A bets a bet. Pay up, Sammy." Sam pulled out his wallet and gave her five bucks. Max laughed and put the bill in her pocket.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They were sitting in the motel room, Sam on his laptop researching the drownings, Dean was unpacking his stuff, and Max was across from Sam looking through John's journal. Sam spoke as he found an article about the drownings.

"Okay, three drownings this year." Dean looked at him.

"Any before?" Sam nodded.

"Six, spread out over thirty-five years. No bodies then either." Max spoke.

"Whatever's out there, it's escalating, fast." Dean glanced at them.

"Lake monster on a binge?" Max glanced at the journal as she spoke.

"I don't know about lake monster." The guys looked at her, Dean spoke.

"What do you mean?" Max closed the journal.

"Loch Ness, Lake Champlain, hundreds upon hundreds of sightings and stories. But here, there's barely anything. If anyone has seen this thing, whatever it is, they're not living to tell the tale." Sam nodded and looked back at his laptop. Something caught Dean's eye.

"Wait, Barr, Christopher Barr. That's familiar." Max leaned over the table to look at the screen. Sam read what was written.

"Christopher Barr was the guy who drowned in May. Andrea's husband, Lucas's father. Lucas was on a piece of floating wood when Chris drowned, it was two hours before they found him." Dean leaned back against the wall, Max sat back down in her chair.

"Damn, poor kid." Dean looked at the screen.

"No wonder that kid didn't talk. You don't watch a parent die and get over it." Max looked at him, he looked her in the eye and sighed. They got up and grabbed their jackets. They had to go talk to Lucas.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

They found Andrea at the local park, watching Lucas who was drawing. Sam spoke to her as they walked up.

"May we join you?" Andrea looked up and smiled.

"I'm here with Lucas." They saw Lucas across the way. Dean looked at her.

"Mind if I say hi?" Dean walked off as Andrea opened her mouth to reply. Sam sat next to her as Max stood next to him. Andrea smiled at Sam.

"Tell him the whole Jerry McGuire thing isn't gonna work." Max smiled.

"Believe me, he knows." Sam glanced at her, then turned back to Andrea.

"That's not what this is about." Andrea gave him a confused look then looked at Lucas and Dean. She stood up as Dean walked back over to them.

"Lucas hasn't said anything, since Chris." Dean stopped and looked at her.

"Yeah, we're sorry about that." Andrea nodded. Sam spoke to her.

"What've the doctors said about this?" Andrea took a deep breathe.

"It's some kind of PTSD." Max shook her head.

"I'm sorry, it must be rough." Andrea nodded.

"We moved in with my Dad, he helps." Andrea looked down, trying to think of something to say without tearing up. She looked at Lucas.

"I think about what he went through." Dean glanced at Lucas.

"Kids are strong, you'd be surprised what they can deal with." Max looked down and stiffened. Sam looked at her, but Andrea spoke, catching his attention.

"You know, he used to be so hard to keep up with. So full of life, but now…" Lucas walked over, a picture in his hand. He handed it to Dean and walked off.

"Thanks Lucas." Sam and Max looked at Dean. He watched Lucas walk away, then looked at them. They thanked Andrea, then headed back to the Impala.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Dean was watching tv as Max was putting her stuff in her bag. Dean turned off the tv.

"Max, what's wrong?" Max turned to him with a confused look on her face.

"What're you talking about?" Dean sighed.

"You didn't think I would notice, but I did. You froze up when we were talking to Andrea." Max leaned against the dresser.

"This case is just hitting a little close to home, okay?" Dean looked at her seriously.

"You think it isn't for us? For me?" Max looked down as Dean continued.

"Max, what happened?" Max looked up.

"Dean, you already know." He nodded.

"Yeah, your parents died on a hunt. Only you never went into anymore detail. You just left it alone." Max sighed.

"If you want the whole story, I'll tell you the whole story. But not today, today we have a job to do. Lets focus on that." Dean sighed as the door opened. Sam walked in.

"So, we can rule out Nessie." Max looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Sam sat down next to Dean.

"I drove past the Carlton's, there was an ambulance out front. Will Carlton's dead." Dean looked at him.

"He drowned?" Sam nodded.

"In the sink." Max looked between them.

"What the hell?" Dean looked at Max.

"You were right, this isn't some lake monster or creature. It's something else." Sam spoke.

"But what?" The guys looked at Max.

"Water wraith? Something that controls water." Max raised an eyebrow and continued.

"Water from the same source. The lake." Sam nodded.

"Explains the body count. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time." Dean stood up.

"If it can move through the pipes, it can get to anyone anywhere. This is gonna happen again, and soon." Sam looked at him.

"We also know Bill Carlton has a hand in this." Max spoke to him.

"Took both of his kids, I would think so." Sam looked at her.

"Another thing, Lucas's dad, Chris. Bill Carlton's godson." Dean looked at them.

"Time to pay Mr. Carlton a visit." They grabbed their jackets and left the motel.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bill was sitting on the dock behind his house, looking out at the lake. They approached him and Sam spoke.

"Mr. Carlton, we'd like to ask you some questions." Dean continued.

"We're from the…" Bill cut him off.

"I don't care who you are, I'm done." Max looked at them, then knelt next to Bill.

"Will said he saw something. In the lake. Mr. Carlton did you see something, anything? We think Will and Sophie, whatever killed them, are connected. We just want…" Bill cut her off.

"My kids are gone. It's worse than dying. Just go away, please." Max looked down then stood up. Sam and Dean started back toward the house, but Max stayed next to Bill. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Carlton, believe me I am so incredibly sorry." He looked up at her and nodded. Max smiled at him and patted his shoulder. She joined the boys as they walked to the Impala. Sam spoke to them.

"So, what do you think?" Dean sighed.

"He's been through hell." Max looked at him.

"He's not telling us something, though." Sam looked at her.

"Like what?" Max leaned against the car.

"I don't know, but something in his eyes just didn't seem right." Dean spoke, looking at the house.

"Huh." Sam and Max turned to him. Sam spoke.

"What's up?" Dean pulled out the drawing Lucas gave him. The house in the drawing was the Carlton house.

"I don't think it's just Bill who knows something." He looked at Max and Sam, then they all got in the Impala.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They were in the sheriff's house talking to Andrea, trying to convince her to let them talk to Lucas.

"No. I don't think this is a good idea." Dean spoke to her.

"Just for a few minutes, I promise." Andrea shook her head.

"He won't talk to you, what good will that do?" Sam spoke to her next.

"We think something is happening, Andrea. More people might be in danger." Andrea shifted uncomfortably.

"Chris and the others, they just drowned." Max spoke next.

"If that's what you believe, fine. We'll go. But if for just a second you think something else might be going on, please let us talk to Lucas." Andrea sighed and nodded. She led them upstairs to Lucas's room, Lucas was drawing again. Dean went into the room and knelt down next to Lucas. Sam, Max, and Andrea stood outside the door.

"Hey, Lucas. Remember me?" Lucas ignored him, still drawing. Dean looked through the pictures Lucas had already finished. Dean looked back to Lucas.

"I wanted to thank you for that other drawing you gave me, it really helped out. But I need your help." Dean took out the drawing of the Carlton house and set it next to Lucas. Dean continued.

"How did you know about this house, Lucas? Did you know something was gonna happen?" Lucas ignored him.

"If you could nod or something, Lucas." Lucas still didn't answer. Dean realized something.

"You're scared." Max stiffened when she heard him. Dean continued.

"It's okay, I get it. When I was your age, I saw something happen, something bad happen, to my Mom." Max turned and walked back down the hallway. Sam watched her go, then heard her go down the stairs and out the front door.

A while later, Max was sitting on the front steps of the house, her arms crossed in front of her. She was looking at the lake when she heard the door open. She glanced behind her, then back at the lake.

"Where's Dean?" Sam sat next to her.

"Talking to Andrea." Max nodded. They sat in silence for a moment, then Sam spoke.

"Max, I've never seen you just up and leave like that. What's wrong?" Max looked at him.

"I just…I just know what it's like to be that young and scared and freaked out. It brought up a lot of bad memories for me." Sam gave her a confused look.

"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Max smiled.

"It was before I met you guys." Sam nodded.

"Your parents?" Max nodded.

"Yeah." Sam looked down, then back at her.

"You wanna talk about it?" Max smiled at him.

"Thanks, Sam. But no, not really." Sam nodded. They both stood up as Dean exited the house.

"Let's go." Max and Sam followed him to the Impala. Dean started the car and drove off.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam was looking at the drawing Lucas gave Dean. It had a church and a yellow house, with a boy and a red bike in front of the house. Dean spoke.

"Andrea said Lucas never drew like that until his Dad died. What's your professional opinion, Doc?" Max looked at him.

"There've been cases where people who've been through a traumatic event are more susceptible to psychic events." Dean looked at her in the rearview mirror.

"So, somehow, Lucas is tapping into it? Sometime soon, someone else is gonna drown, so if either of you have a plan, please share." Sam sighed.

"Alright. We have a house to find." Dean looked at him.

"Only there are over a hundred yellow houses like that in this county, how are we supposed to find it?" Max looked at the drawing from the backseat.

"Not many churches like that." Dean nodded, then pulled something out of his jacket.

"Oh, yeah. Lucas had this lying with his other drawings, he handed it to me to give to you. Here." He handed Max a folded up piece of paper with her name on it. She unfolded it and looked at the drawing. She folded it back up and looked out the window. Dean looked at her.

"What was it?" Max looked at him.

"Nothing important." Max looked back out the window. Dean opened his mouth to say something, but Sam cut him off. They started talking about what Dean said to Lucas, leaving Max with her thoughts.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They soon found the church from the picture, and the house, but no boy on a red bike. They went up to the house and spoke with the woman who lived there. Dean spoke to her.

"We're sorry to bother you, but does a little kid live here? He would have a red bike, maybe?" The woman shook her head.

"Not in thirty-five years, no." She walked over to a small table with a boy's picture on it.

"Peter's been gone for that long. Nobody, not even me, had any idea what happened to him. He was just gone. It's worse than dying." Max looked at Sam. Dean spoke to her.

"Did Peter disappear from here?" The woman shook her head.

"He was supposed to come straight here, on his bike, after school. But he didn't." Dean looked at Sam and Max, then saw a picture on the mirror. It was Peter and some other boy. Dean took the picture down and turned it over. It was Peter Sweeney and Bill Carlton, when they were younger. They thanked Mrs. Sweeney and left.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They were back in the Impala, driving back toward Lake Manitoc. Sam spoke to Dean as Max leaned up between them.

"So Peter Sweeney disappears, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton in some way." Dean then spoke.

"Yeah, he seems to be hiding something." Then Max.

"And everyone he loves, they're all dying." Dean spoke next.

"Okay, what if Bill did something to Peter." Sam next.

"What if he killed him." Dean raised his eyebrows as Max spoke.

"Peter's spirit would be furious, furious enough to kill. To get revenge." Dean drove a little faster.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They arrived at the Carlton house a little while later. They got out as Sam called for Bill.

"Mr. Carlton!" Dean looked out at the lake, and spotted Bill on a boat headed out.

"Hey, guys." Max and Sam turned to the lake. They took off toward the dock. They got to the end of the dock and started calling out to Bill.

"Mr. Carlton!"

"Turn the boat around!"

"Come back, please!" Nothing they said made him turn around. All of a sudden, the boat was hit, sending Bill into the water. He didn't resurface. Max backed up a few feet and took off her jacket. Dean and Sam stopped her.

"Max, you can't. We don't know what's down there." Max tried to push past them.

"I can get him!" Dean grabbed her shoulders and yelled at her.

"You can't! He's gone!" Max pushed him away. She turned and picked up her jacket, then walked back up the dock. Sam and Dean followed her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They had to go to the sheriff station, the sheriff wanted to know what happened. They entered the building, and Andrea and Lucas were there.

"Sam, Dean, Max. Didn't expect to see you here." The sheriff glanced at them.

"First name basis? What's up, Andrea?" Andrea picked up what was in her seat.

"We brought you dinner." The sheriff sighed.

"Thank you, but I can't right now, Andrea." Andrea looked at Dean, then her Dad.

"I heard, about Bill. Is there something going on at the lake?" The sheriff looked at them, then at Andrea.

"No, but right now I think you and Lucas should head home." Lucas looked up at his grandfather, then grabbed Dean's arm and pulled it. Dean knelt down in front of him.

"Lucas, it's alright. It's alright." Max and Sam looked at him, worried looks on both of their faces. Andrea pulled him away and led him outside, Dean watching them the whole time. The sheriff turned and went into his office, Sam following him. Max put a hand on Dean's shoulder, he looked at her and followed her into the office. The sheriff looked at all of them.

"So you all see something in the water hit Bill's boat, sending him, who was a varsity swimmer, into the water and you don't see him again. Then one of you decide to try and get him." Max looked up at him.

"Yeah, sounds about right." The sheriff continued.

"And I'm supposed to take your word for it, even though we've done just about everything we can to search that lake. And what you've described can't happen, and you're not Wildlife Service. I called them, they've never heard of you." Dean spoke to him.

"We can explain." The sheriff cut him off.

"Please. The only reason you all aren't in cuffs, is because Bill's neighbor saw him in that boat before you guys. So, either I can arrest you for impersonating government agents or you can get in your car and never come here again." Sam looked at him.

"Second option sounds good." The sheriff looked at all of them.

"That's the one I'd pick." They got up and walked out of the office, Max stopped at the door and turned to the sheriff.

"We're sorry, sheriff. Really, we are. We were just trying to help. And _that's_ the truth." Max walked to Sam and Dean and they walked outside.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dean pulled up to a stop light a while later, not really paying attention. Sam looked at the light.

"Green." Dean stared at the road.

"What?" Max leaned up to look at him.

"Light's green, Dean." Dean turned the car, in the opposite direction that they were supposed to be going. Sam noticed.

"Interstate's the other way." Dean nodded.

"Yeah, I know." Dean continued down the road as Sam and Max looked at him. Sam spoke.

"Dean, the job, it's done." Dean shook his head.

"I don't think it is." Sam spoke again.

"If Bill killed Peter, Peter killed Bill. I think it's over, the spirit should be at rest."

"What if we leave and it's not over? What if more people get hurt?"

"Why would you think that?" Dean paused.

"Cause Lucas looked pretty freaked out." Max looked at him.

"That's what you're worried about?" Dean didn't look at either of them.

"I don't want to leave without knowing the kid's okay." Sam looked at him.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?" Max looked at him and smiled.

"Are you better than the original?" Dean looked ahead.

"Shut up." They drove in silence to Andrea's house.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They walked up the front steps to the front door, Sam still thinking it was a bad idea.

"You sure about this?" Dean raised his hand to ring the doorbell, but Lucas opened the door while panting. Dean grabbed his shoulders.

"Lucas?" Lucas ran up the stairs to the bathroom, Dean, Sam, and Max following. Lucas banged on the door, which had murky water coming from underneath. Dean pulled Lucas away from the door into Max's arms and kicked open the door. He grabbed Lucas as Sam and Max rushed to the tub to pull Andrea out. They reached into the tub and grabbed Andrea, when they tried to pull her to the surface something had a stronger hold on her. They kept pulling until Andrea had come up for air, but she was immediately pulled back under, taking Max with her. Sam yelled for Max, whose whole head was under the water.

"Max!" Max pulled her head out of the water, and helped Sam pull Andrea out all together. Sam held Andrea on the floor as she coughed the water out of her lungs. Max slid down the wall behind her, clutching her stomach. She looked at Dean, then at the tub. Dean saw the frightened look on her face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Max had checked out Andrea, to make sure she didn't have any permanent damage from her almost drowning. Dean was looking through some old photo albums when Max walked in, braiding her damp hair. Dean looked at her.

"How's Andrea?" Max looked at him.

"She's good, no water in her lungs anymore. She'll be fine." Dean left one of the books that said 'Jake - 12 years old' open as he looked at her seriously.

"What about you?" Max took a deep breathe and touched her stomach.

"A little sore. But Dean, when my head was under the water, I swear I heard a voice. This little boy's voice." Dean held his breathe.

"What'd it say?" Max looked down, then at him.

"Come play with me." Dean looked down at a picture as Max continued.

"Do you think it could've been Peter?" Dean pulled out a picture.

"I'm sure of it now." He left the room and headed to the living room, Max following him. Sam was sitting across from Andrea. Dean set the picture in front of her.

"You recognize anybody?" Andrea looked at the picture.

"Yeah, that's my Dad. When he was twelve, I think." Dean looked at Sam.

"Chris Barr, maybe the connection wasn't to Bill, maybe it was to the sheriff." Sam looked at him.

"Bill and the sheriff. Both knew Peter." Andrea looked between them.

"What about Chris? My Dad?" Max nudged Dean's shoulder, she gesture to the back door where Lucas was standing. Dean looked at him.

"Lucas? What is it?" Lucas walked outside, everyone following him. He walked away from the house to a random spot and looked down. Lucas looked up at Dean, who turned to Andrea.

"You and Lucas stay in the house, okay?" Andrea nodded and led Lucas back to the house. Sam, Dean, and Max dug in that spot until they hit something hard. They dropped their shovels and dug with their hands. Sam found some metal pipes and pulled on them. He and Dean pulled them, to reveal Peter's red bike. Max looked at it.

"Peter's bike." They looked up as a gun cocked. Jake was there with a gun on them.

"Who the hell are you?" Sam held up a hand.

"Put it down, Jake." Jake looked at the bike, then at them.

"How'd you know that was there?" Dean let go of the bike to look at Jake.

"What, that you and Bill killed Peter and buried his bike? You can't bury the truth, Jake." Jake looked at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Max walked between Sam and Dean, Jake aimed the gun at her.

"You and Bill Carlton drowned Peter Sweeney thirty-five years ago, and now you have a very angry and vengeful spirit." Just then Andrea ran to them.

"Dad!" Sam continued.

"It's gonna get Andrea, Lucas. It'll drown them, and take them who knows where. Just so you can feel what Peter's mom feels everyday. Then, it's gonna take you. It won't stop until it does." Jake looked at Sam.

"Really? How do you know?" Max spoke next.

"It's what happened to Bill Carlton, Jake." Jake looked at all of them.

"Are you listening to yourselves? This is insane." Dean spoke next.

"I don't care what you think of us. We need to find his remains, salt and burn them if you have any hope of getting rid of him. Please tell me you buried Peter somewhere, that you didn't just let him go into the lake." Andrea looked at her Dad.

"Dad is that true?" Jake didn't look at her.

"No, their lying and their dangerous." Andrea tried to get him to look at her.

"Something tried to drown me, Dad. Look at me, please say you didn't kill someone." Jake didn't answer.

"Oh, God." Jake looked at her.

"Bill and I were at the lake. Peter, we always picked on him, but that day…that day was rougher than others. We held him under water, for too long and he drowned. It was an accident, I swear. We let his body go into the lake. Andrea, we were kids and we were scared. But what's going on now, a ghost, its insane." Dean spoke to both of them.

"Hey, you guys gotta get out of here. We gotta get you as far from here as possible." Andrea looked out at the lake and gasped, Lucas was on the dock. Everyone looked, but Jake yelled to him.

"Lucas!" They all ran toward the dock. Dean and Andrea yelling his name.

"Lucas!" "Lucas, don't move." Just then a hand came out of the water and grabbed Lucas, throwing him into the water. Jake stopped at the shore when he saw a head come out of the water, it was Peter. Sam, Dean, and Max ran down the dock and dove into the water. Andrea was right behind them, but Max stopped her.

"Andrea, stay on the dock." Andrea didn't pay attention.

"Lucas." Max looked up at her.

"We'll find him, Andrea. Just stay there." Max dove under the water with Sam and Dean. After a minute they came up for air, not Lucas. Dean looked to Sam.

"Sam?" Sam shook his head. Dean turned to Max.

"Max?" Max shook her head, too.

"No." Dean dove back under, as did Max and Sam. Jake walked into the lake.

"Peter, don't do this." Andrea turned to look at her father.

"Daddy, no!" Jake ignored her.

"Lucas is just a kid." Dean resurfaced, followed by Sam and Max.

"Just let this stop!" Dean yelled out to him.

"Jake, no!" Max yelled when something grabbed Jake.

"Jake? Jake!" Jake was pulled under. Max looked a Dean, who quickly dove back under. Max then did the same, then Sam. Andrea stared at the water. Sam came up first, then Max. Andrea cried out, then saw Dean resurface with Lucas. Max swam for the dock, yelling to Dean.

"Dean get him to the dock, fast." Max quickly got up as Dean swan over. Max and Andrea pulled Lucas onto the dock. Max sat him up and hit his back, to help get the water out. Lucas started coughing up water, after a minute he stopped. Max put her ear to his chest.

"Come one, Lucas, a couple deep breathes." Lucas took a deep breathe as Max listened to his lungs. After a second, Max smiled and looked at Andrea.

"He's gonna be just fine, Andrea." Andrea smiled and pulled Lucas into her arms. Max leaned back and looked at Sam and Dean, who had gotten onto the dock. Dean nodded at her, she returned it. Sam stood up and held his hand out to her, which she took.

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They were packing up the Impala the next day, Dean was being really quiet. They put their bags into the trunk as Sam spoke to Dean.

"Hey. We can't save everyone." Dean nodded. Max put a hand on his shoulder, he looked at her as she smiled. They turned when they heard a familiar voice. It was Andrea.

"Sam, Dean, Max. Glad we caught you, we have food for you. Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches." Lucas looked up at his Mom.

"Can I give it to them?" Andrea smiled and nodded. Dean took the plate from Lucas.

"Come one, let's load this up." Dean led Lucas to the car. Sam and Max smiled at them, glad that Lucas was talking again. Max turned to Andrea.

"How 're you doing?" Andrea shrugged

"It's gonna take some time, you know?" Sam looked at her.

"Andrea, I'm sorry." Andrea shook her head and smiled.

"You saved Lucas, you all did. Dad loved me, and Lucas. I just have to remember that." Max and Sam nodded and turned toward the Impala, and saw Lucas give Dean a high five. Dean stood up as Andrea approached him, and kissed him.

"Thank you." Dean tried not to look at Sam or Max, who had amused looks on their faces.

"Sam, Max, move your asses. Still want daylight when we hit the road." They all got into the Impala and waved to Andrea and Lucas. They drove off down the road, then Max spoke.

"Can I just say, I'm not swimming in another lake anytime soon." Dean laughed and looked at her in the mirror.

"A run in with a water ghost and you're done with swimming?" Max looked at him.

"I didn't say I was done with swimming, just lakes. I'll still swim at the beach, if we ever go to one again." Dean raised his eyebrows and smiled. Sam laughed at the expression on his brother's face, and pretty soon, the whole car was full of laughter.

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Later that night, they had pulled into a roadside motel. Dean and Sam were passed out cold in the beds, but Max was sitting next to the window looking at the moon. She looked at the guys sleeping, then pulled out the picture that Lucas had given her. She unfolded it and studied the picture. There was a yellow one-story house with a brown roof, a green truck beside it, and a headstone beside the truck. In front of the house, was a man holding a bottle and a glass. Behind the house, dark clouds were swirling like the whirl pools Lucas had drawn.

Max folded the picture back up and stared at her name written on the back. She leaned over to the table and grabbed Dean's lighter. She got a flame, but looked at the guys to make sure the sound didn't wake them. She lit the paper on fire, she closed the lighter and threw the drawing into the metal wastebasket. Flames danced across her face as she watched it burn, when the paper was out she got up and went to the bed she shared with Dean. She got under the covers and tried to go to sleep, memories playing in her head prevented her from doing just that.

_What is Max hiding from the boys? What was the picture about?_

_A.N. Just wanted to do a little background on Max real quick. She's known Sam, Dean, and John for almost twenty years and has hunted with them for most of that time. She is the closest thing the boys have to a sister. She is tough, period. She is a rock for the boys, and she can pick herself up after being seriously injured and keep going. The only things that really get to her are her family, the boys, and her past. More of her past will be revealed in later chapters, I can't wait for you to read them. Please review, I want to hear the theories about Max. Enjoy!_


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